Story of an American Girl

When I was growing up, I didn’t play with dolls much. Cute, fluffy animals (especially Care Bears) were more up my alley. But I knew a few people who had American Girl dolls, and they were such fine quality, I couldn’t help but want one of my own. All the dolls had beautiful faces and outfits, and even great books telling their stories! Everyone had a favorite; mine was Samantha.

I knew American Girls were expensive, so I never asked for one. But now I can live vicariously through Sydney Rose Paulsen, photographer and American Girl (AG) enthusiast.

Getting Started

Sydney isn’t quite sure how many dolls she actually has. “Probably around 45 or 50, but I’ve been collecting since I was 6.” In Christmas of 2004, her grandmother gave her Kirsten, at which point she fell head over heels in love with American Girl. She read Kirsten’s books and “instantly wanted to check out all of the other girls’ series from the library. I became so passionate about the history, stories, and characters. Once I found out my best friend was obsessed with AG, though, my love for the dolls and their stories exploded and they became our lives.”

As time went by, the other kids’ passion waned. “When I was around twelve, I saw that my friends were slowly moving away from their dolls, and I didn’t know whether or not it was ‘okay’ to keep playing with them. I still adored everything about my dolls and their world, but to go at it alone is a little daunting for a tween.”

But something happened that summer to make up for her friends’ loss of interest. “I discovered ‘AGTube,’ which brimmed full of incredible AG stop-motions and photo stories. My favorite accounts were Stephenswodadancer and BasilMentos. But when I turned 13, I joined an AG collecting forum and came across ‘Pleasant Piper,‘ a blog written by a professional photographer from the perspective of Piper, her doll. As soon as I saw Piper’s photos and stories, I knew exactly what I was going to do with my dolls.”

The Hobby

Sydney is a talented photographer with a great eye for scenes, and she puts those skills to work by creating images using her dolls as models. “On the whole, each set takes dozens of hours to create from scratch,” she says.

While many of Sydney’s concepts are completely original, she also takes inspiration from media. “I usually come up with an idea while watching a movie or reading a book. Moonrise Kingdom has always been one of my favorite films, and after I put it [on] one time, I realized that I could totally match some of the scenes. Because we [she and her mom, who plays a major role in putting sets together] both adored the movie, it was a no-brainer.”

The Process

After choosing a film, she goes online to study screencaps and still images from the set, deciding which ones to tackle. “At this point in the process, I always make a list of all of the details needed to pull off a recreation. Suzy’s [from Moonrise Kingdom] dress, Sam’s cap, a worn-out map, mini bouquet of flowers, etc. It’s then a process of thrifting, sewing, and making all of the miniatures until everything’s in place!”

When choosing which dolls to use for a scene, Sydney goes with any one that suits a role, rather than buying a new one every time. “I also have about 8 dolls without hair, and they come in handy when I need a character to have a specific hairstyle.” Because apparently doll wigs are a thing. I had no idea! More on that later.

Sydney takes her photos anywhere if the location is right and on public property. “Often I’m asked if I get self-conscious about taking photos in public, but all of those feelings have dissipated over the last few years. Most of the time, folks are just curious. I’ll get the stray ‘that’s creepy’ comment (which still irks me), but other than that, everyone is generally really positive or too much in their own heads to even notice.”

Getting Crafty

“Mom and I would spend hours thrifting for materials, and she’d create the miniatures herself,” Sydney says. “Any material will do, but we especially love packing and floral foam blocks since they can be shaped into anything.”

Now that she’s amassed a collection of props, Sydney says, “it’s not quite so difficult to pull something together, but back in the beginning, maybe I’d need a fireplace for a setup, or a window seat.” She adds, “I generally only pick projects that both my mom and I are passionate about; otherwise, there’s no fun in it.”

Mom to the Rescue

Sydney’s mom has many talents; she even makes the doll outfits! “She’s truly the reason why I’m still taking doll photos. When I was 17-18, we watched Stand By Me together and became so excited at the idea of recreating some of the scenes from the film with my dolls. Mom created each of the outfits and accessories over the course of several months. I recall we couldn’t find any shirt fabric just like Gordie’s, so we bought something similar from a thrift store, and I hand-drew the other colors onto the shirt.”

They work with a lot of different doll wig companies. “They’re usually kind enough to let me do whatever I want with them. Once again, my mom comes to the rescue. The first time she styled a wig, we were both a little anxious, but now it’s just so normal, ha!”

Of her mom, Sydney says, “Can you tell how incredible she is?” Yes, Mom sure sounds pretty special!

Choosing Favorites

Which scene was her favorite one to create? “There are so many that have given me so much joy, but I keep having to go back to Stand By Me, probably because it was my first recreation. My entire family road-tripped down to Brownsville (the movie’s filming location) at 4 in the morning so that we could spend the entire day setting up scenes in the town. And to be in the place where one of my favorite pieces of art was created meant more than I can ever say. That day was perfect.”

And what about a favorite doll? Sydney created a mini-me doll that she loves, but says that all of her dolls are pretty special to her. “One of my favorites, though, is my white-bodied Samantha.” Originally, she explains, when Pleasant Company created the first three characters in 1986, the cloth used for the girls’ bodies was a pale white color. In 1990, they switched to tan, making those early dolls with the white cloth super rare today! “Having a white-bodied girl is incredibly special to me. Here’s the video of me opening her for Christmas (nearly 10 years ago)!”

As a kid, her favorite doll was Kirsten–“probably because she looked the most like me and I adored pioneers after growing up with the Little House books. Molly, Addy, and Felicity were next in line. Currently, my favorite books are Addy’s, hands down. I reread each doll’s series every year or so, and it is absolutely remarkable how beautiful her stories are.” I, too, recall Addy having the best books.

Going Pro

“I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with several different doll brands as their photographer. That was never the original plan when I started my Instagram almost seven years ago, but it’s been such a marvelous part! A few of my favorite collaborations have been with Hearts For Hearts Girls, The Queen’s Treasures, and Mini and Me.”

Sydney says her whole family has been supportive of her hobby from the start. “In my teen years I was under some pressure to find my career, and I always dreaded those conversations at family events. More than anything, I think I just felt alone, realizing that there weren’t many people (in my immediate circle) who would understand. Most of my friends didn’t ever acknowledge that this was such a big part of my life. But then again, I didn’t bring it up that often because I was afraid of coming across as weird to them.”

But through the internet, Sydney has managed to find lots of friends who share her passion! “There is such a marvelous community of AG lovers in the world! And since I have an American Girl store only an hour away, it makes meetups pretty easy. Generally I plan to hang out and meet other folks during AG’s launch of the new Girl of the Year on January 1st. It’s such an exciting event!”

Sydney has remained pretty loyal to the American Girl brand, buying their dolls almost exclusively. “I really only have an emotional connection to AGs,” she says. “I think if other dolls had had the exquisite books to go along with them, I would have been reeled in. But alas, AG has everyone else beat in that category!” Without those books, she adds, “I never would have held onto my passion throughout my childhood. That’s why, whenever I take a photo, I always try to think about what story I’m trying to tell. How can I make these dolls come alive? It’s the best kind of challenge.”

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos in this post belong to Sydney Rose Paulsen. To see more of Sydney’s marvelous photos, check out her Instagram. You can buy high-quality prints, postcards, and more in her Etsy shop. Sydney also has a second Instagram for her non-doll photography. And she says you can see more posts from “an incredible crew of AG enthusiasts” by following the hashtag #agigcrew.

In case you didn’t know, you can customize and order your own mini-me on American Girl’s website. Just for fun, here’s what mine looks like.

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